Sermon Outline Archive

Sermon Outline 3 Aug, 2008 Morning Service

Topic: Why Doesn’t The Storm Go Away?

I. We have come to refer to serious hardships as the “storms of life”.

A. Sometimes the storms of life are literal storms.

B. Often they fall into other categories.

C. Mark tells of a literal storm then of a storm of life: demon-possession.

II. Sometimes we find that the storm remains longer than we thought it would.

A. There are a lot of reasons this can happen.

B. This passage focuses on one of the most common reasons.

C. So, Why Doesn’t The Storm Go Away?

I. Because You Can Be Free And Bound At The Same Time (vs. 3 & 9).

A. Physically, the Gadarene demoniac was free.

B. At the same time, he was bound spiritually.

C. In our society, we have so many people who are living similar lives.

1. They are quick to claim their “freedom”:

2. Ironically, these folks are also often simultaneously bound.

D. Jesus declared that he who is truly free whom the Son has freed.

II. Because Many Are Comfortable With Their “Storm” (vs. 7 & 15).

A. When Legion bowed down, it was obvious that he feared Jesus.

1. After Legion was cast out and the man was “clothed and in his right mind,” the people were “afraid”.

2. Many believe the fear arose from the economic loss.

a. But that doesn’t fit with the passage very well.

b. The cause of their fear was what happened to the man.

B. For many of us, this makes little sense at first.

1. They had to be relieved to see that the man changed.

2. But instead they feared the power that was at work here.

C. Many people today do the same thing.

1. They know the mess they’ve got, but it’s a familiar mess.

2. The greater fear is the unknown.

III. Because Some Fail To Realize What They Are Begging For (vs. 10, 17-18).

A. The Greek word for plead or beg shows up three times here.

1. Legion “begged” Jesus not to be cast out of the country (vs. 10).

2. The townspeople pleaded with Jesus to leave (vs. 17).

3. The healed man “begged” to go with Jesus (vs. 18).

B. Their pleas say so much about them, and maybe about us.

C. In your storms, what do you typically plead with God for?

I. Notice what happened at Jesus’ feet (vs. 6 & 15).

A. The demon Legion ran at Jesus and bowed down at His feet.

B. The formerly possessed man is in his right mind sitting at Jesus’ feet.

C. We will all be bowing down at Jesus’ feet someday.

II. The demon-possessed man roamed around “crying out” in agony.

A. If life is full of cries it will be miserable.

B. Later he cried out in joy of what Christ had done for him.

C. No matter where you are in life the choice is yours to focus on the agony or the joy, as both will come your way.